For Infertility Patients

Conquering Infertility: A Guide for Couples
By Stephen L. Corso. 1999

For Parents

Flight of the Stork: What Children Think (and When) about Sex and Family Buildiing
By Anne C. Bernstein. Perspectives Press. 1994

A "must read" book. Focuses on how children's thinking develops. Explains how children organize and internalize information on sex and reproduction, at different stages of development. Includes insights about how children think about reproductive technology.

The Long-Awaited Stork: A Guide to Parenting After Infertility
By Ellen Sarasohn Glazer. Jossey-Bass. 1998

Looks at the effect of parents' infertility as their children grow. An excellent chapter on the parents' experience of parenting after donor insemination and surrogacy.

Adopting After Infertility
By Patricia Irwin Johnston. Perspectives Press. 1996

While this book is about adoption, the author really understands the lifelong impact of infertility on raising a family.

Real Parents, Real Children: Parenting the Adopted Child
By Holly Van Gulden and Lisa M. Bartels-Rabb. Crossroad/Herder & Herder. 1995

Like Patricia Johnston, these authors have a sensitive feel for the grief and loss issues related to infertility and parenting. They offer several suggestions for handling the psychological aspects of discussing adoption that can be adapted for discussing third party reproduction.

Making Sense of Adoption: A Parent's Guide
By Lois Ruskai Melina. Harper Collins. 1989

Several chapters include specific material on discussing the issues of "where did I come from" with children conceived through donor gametes or surrogacy. She offers explanations and words parents can use with their children.

For Children

How Babies and Families are Made: There is more than one way!
By Patricia Schaffer. Tabor Sarah Books. 1988

Explains the facts of anatomy, conception and birth in a context that acknowledges a variety of ways in which families can be created, including donor insemination (doesn't mention donor egg or surrogacy).